Let’s face it: Lawyers are not very tech-savvy. They don't like change, and they prefer the tried-and-true way of getting things done. However, one technological aspect of the modern world that many lawyers are trying to adapt to is online marketing. If you own a law firm, local search engine optimization could be just what you need to ensure your success in your community. Here are five tips about how local SEO can help law firms gain online exposure.
The objective of local search engine optimization is simple: get your business website ranked in local search results. In other words, instead of trying to convince a user from another state or country that your services are worth their attention, you want to focus on ranking your business in searches by people physically located nearby.
While it may sound a bit confusing, local SEO strategy can really be simplified down into a few key areas: local citations, link building, and community engagement.
When you take all these elements into account, you'll create an effective strategy that works better than any national campaign for small businesses.
Moreover, local SEO empowers local businesses like law firms to garner more attention, leads, and customers. Not bad at all!
Why it matters: More than 90% of consumers use online search to find local businesses. If your law firm doesn’t show up, you’re missing out on cases that are literally in your backyard.
So how do law firms go about getting started with local SEO? Let's explore some actionable strategies below:
These days, most people turn to Google before they pick up the phone to call a local business, including law firms. Even though legal services are often provided face-to-face, the way clients find those services has changed. Instead of asking around or flipping through a phone book, people now search online to find attorneys near them who specialize in the help they need.
That shift in behavior is exactly why local search engine optimization (local SEO) has become so important. It helps ensure your law firm shows up when someone in your area searches for legal services like “divorce lawyer near me” or “DUI attorney in West Palm Beach.”
Local SEO helps your law firm show up in front of the right people at the right time, when they’re searching for legal help nearby.
Here’s why it matters:
Local SEO helps your law firm stand out in a crowded market, connect with nearby clients, and grow your reputation online and offline.
As technology continues to evolve, more law firms are realizing they need to be visible online if they want to compete. That’s why many are now making local SEO a core part of their marketing strategy.
But what actually goes into a strong local SEO plan? Below are the key factors that influence how well your law firm performs in local search results:
One of the biggest tools that can help your law firm show up in local search results is Google Business Profile (formerly called Google My Business, or GMB). This free tool allows you to manage how your business appears on Google Search and Maps. If you want your law firm to get found by people searching for legal help in your area, this is a must.
You start by claiming your law firm’s profile on Google. Then, you fill in important details like:
This information helps Google understand where you are and what you do, so it can show your business to people nearby who are searching for those exact services.
Google uses this profile to decide which businesses to show first in local results. If your listing is complete, accurate, and regularly updated, your chances of ranking higher go way up.
A well-optimized profile also helps potential clients feel more confident in contacting you. It’s one of the first things they’ll see when they search for legal services, so first impressions count.
Photos! Upload clear, high-quality pictures of your office, waiting area, and staff (with permission). These images help people get a feel for your firm and create trust even before they call or visit.
You can also add special features like:
Do I need to update my profile often? Yes. Even small updates, like posting once a week or changing holiday hours, show Google that your business is active, and that helps your rankings.
Pro Tip: Make weekly posts on your Google Business Profile. Share general legal advice (nothing case-specific), common questions you get from clients, or tips for choosing the right attorney. These updates keep your profile fresh and help build credibility with both Google and potential clients.
When it comes to local SEO, backlinks play a huge role in helping your law firm get found online. Think of backlinks as “votes of confidence” from other websites. When trusted sites link to yours, search engines like Google take that as a sign that your firm is reputable and worth showing in search results.
A backlink is just a link from another website that points to your website. For example, if your law firm is listed on the local Chamber of Commerce site and that listing includes a link to your homepage, that’s a backlink.
Search engines use backlinks to help determine how trustworthy and authoritative your website is. The more high-quality backlinks you have, especially from well-known sites in your industry or community, the more likely your site is to show up when people search for terms like “family lawyer near me” or “criminal defense attorney in [your city].”
But it’s not just about quantity, it’s about quality. Links from respected websites (like legal directories or local news outlets) carry more weight than random blogs or unrelated pages.
Bonus: Good backlinks don’t just improve your rankings, they also send real people to your website who might need your services.
Here are some great starting points for law firms:
Do I need to pay for backlinks? Not necessarily. Many legal directories offer free profiles, and local event sponsorships or guest posts can often be done at little or no cost. Just focus on links that are relevant and come from reputable sources.
Not quite. A local citation is any online mention of your law firm’s name, address, and phone number (NAP). Some citations include a backlink, but others just list your business info. Both help boost your local SEO, especially when your citations are consistent across all platforms.
When your law firm’s website gets links from trusted sources, especially local ones, Google starts to see your site as more relevant to people searching in your area. That means:
Building backlinks takes a little time and effort, but it’s one of the most powerful ways to strengthen your law firm’s local search visibility. Start with the easy wins, like legal directories and local listings, and work your way toward long-term strategies like guest posting and sponsorships. Over time, these links can bring both better rankings and more clients to your door.
When it comes to getting your law firm noticed online, content is everything. And not just any content, your content needs to be optimized for local SEO if you want to show up in searches from people in your area.
It means creating helpful, relevant information on your website that’s focused on what you do and where you do it. The goal is to write content that speaks directly to people in your community who are searching for the legal services you offer.
You might not be able to compete with massive national firms in general search results, but you can outrank them when it comes to local searches, like “divorce attorney in West Palm Beach” or “DUI lawyer near me.”
Search engines want to give people the most relevant results based on what they’re searching and where they’re located. If your website clearly shows that you serve a specific city or region, and includes content that answers common questions for that area, Google is more likely to show your site to local users.
Quick tip: The more specific your content is, the better your chances of ranking locally.
Here are a few examples of local-focused content that can improve your rankings and attract more clients:
Do I have to mention my city in every sentence? No, but you should include it in your headings, page titles, and naturally throughout the content. Overdoing it can look spammy, but done right, it signals to Google (and readers) that your firm is local and relevant.
Use tools like Google’s Keyword Planner, Ubersuggest, or even Google autocomplete to find terms people in your area are searching for. Look for phrases like:
These are known as long-tail keywords, and while they may not get as much traffic as broad terms, they’re much more likely to convert, meaning someone who searches for “child custody lawyer in Delray Beach” is probably ready to hire someone soon.
In addition to creating new content, make sure your website includes:
Optimizing your content for local SEO isn’t just about stuffing in keywords, it’s about speaking directly to your local audience. When you create useful, location-specific content, you make it easier for Google to understand who you serve, and easier for future clients to find and trust you.
Want help figuring out what content your law firm needs? Start by looking at the top-ranking law firms in your city and see what kinds of pages they’re creating. Then, build something even better.
When it comes to search engine rankings, it’s not just about what your website says, it’s also about how people interact with it. Search engines like Google are smarter than ever, and they pay close attention to something called behavioral signals to decide how helpful and trustworthy your site is.
Behavioral signals are patterns in how visitors behave once they land on your website. These signals help search engines understand whether your site is actually useful to people.
Some of the most important behavioral signals include:
Each of these actions tells Google that people are finding what they need, and that’s a good sign your site deserves to rank well.
How does Google know what people do on my site? While exact methods aren’t public, Google uses tools like Google Analytics and Chrome data to gather insights. If a lot of users take action on your site, that behavior helps build your SEO strength.
If someone searches for “estate planning attorney in West Palm Beach,” and they click your link, stay on your site for a while, read your FAQ, and fill out a consultation form, that’s a strong signal to Google that your page was helpful.
On the other hand, if someone clicks your site and leaves within a few seconds, it may suggest that your content didn’t meet their needs. Over time, these patterns affect your rankings.
Here are a few easy ways to improve the way people interact with your website:
Pro tip: Use tools like heatmaps (e.g., Hotjar) to see how people navigate your site. You can find out what they click, how far they scroll, and where they lose interest, then make changes to improve the experience.
Behavioral signals are like your website’s report card. When visitors engage, click, and convert, they’re telling Google your law firm’s site is helpful and trustworthy. The more helpful you are to real people, the better you’ll perform in search results.
If you want your law firm’s website to rank well in local search results, and keep visitors engaged, you have to make sure it works well on mobile devices. This isn’t just a nice-to-have anymore, it’s a must.
Back in 2015, something big happened: mobile search traffic officially passed desktop traffic. That means more people are searching from their phones and tablets than from laptops or desktop computers. And that trend hasn’t slowed down, it’s grown every year since.
Think about how people search for legal help today. They might be sitting in a waiting room, walking to their car, or searching from their couch. If they land on your site and it doesn’t load properly, or they have to pinch and zoom just to read your phone number, there’s a good chance they’ll leave and try a competitor instead.
A mobile-friendly website is one that’s easy to read, fast to load, and simple to navigate on a smaller screen. Here are a few things that matter:
How do I know if my site is mobile-friendly? Google makes this easy. Use the Google Mobile-Friendly Test to check your site. It will show you what’s working and what needs fixing.
Yes, mobile user experience is a direct ranking factor. Google now uses mobile-first indexing, which means it looks at the mobile version of your website first when deciding where to rank you in search results.
If your site is clunky or broken on mobile, it can drag down your rankings even if your desktop version looks great. On the flip side, a smooth mobile experience can improve your visibility and lead to more clicks, calls, and consultations.
While not every law firm needs a mobile app, having one can be useful for larger firms that want to offer client portals, appointment scheduling, or secure messaging. For most firms, though, a well-optimized mobile website is enough.
Google AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) is another option that can speed up page loading times, especially for blog posts. If you publish regular legal content, using AMP might help boost your performance in mobile search results.
A strong mobile experience improves:
If your law firm’s website isn’t mobile-friendly, you’re missing out on a huge share of potential clients. Taking the time to optimize your mobile experience not only makes your site more professional, it also helps you reach more people, rank higher in local searches, and earn more trust from visitors.
Need help improving your site’s mobile experience? Start with a quick test, review your most-visited pages on a phone, and work with your developer or designer to make the changes that matter most.
To gain online exposure as a law firm, it's important that you conduct research into what you need from a search engine optimization standpoint. In addition, there are a number of things you can do on your own to make sure you put your best foot forward.
It's possible that what works now won't work forever, but as long as you have an open mind and keep learning, you should be just fine.
Local SEO is a marathon, not a sprint. Consistency in your efforts, whether it's posting blogs, updating your listings, or earning local links, will pay off in the long run.
Finally, remember that local SEO isn't something you can try one day and expect results by tomorrow; in fact, depending on how competitive your industry is or how much demand there is for what you have to offer, it could take weeks or even months! The idea is to stay consistent with whatever strategy you implement.
Looking for a free Local SEO Audit? Check it out here.
Tags: SEO
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